Pictures!

I realized last night (at about 4am while feeding Marleigh), that she has now lived here in her home longer than she lived in the hospital! Woo Hoo!!! It is crazy to think we have been home so long. I can't believe she is 5 months old already!

Here is a link to some pictures. Too many good ones to add here.

http://s460.photobucket.com/albums/qq325/sarbearjo/june29/?albumview=slideshow

Okay... for some reason the link doesn't work, but if you cut & paste it will!

Finally!

Well, it now officially feels like wheat harvest. I ran the grain cart today for a few hours. It felt good to be in the field, but I missed Marleigh! She was in good hands. She was at Grandma's house. Aunt Shannon & Luke were there, too. Marleigh had fun with them this afternoon. Luke is getting so big. He's 18 months & wearing 3T clothing. He is so funny... or "punny" as he says. He has a bit of a problem sayin his "f's" but will tell you all the time that he is "punny".

Daddy is still out cutting wheat. Marleigh asked me today where Daddy has been the past few days. The guys have been working long hours. Marc got home around 12:30-12:45 last night & was gone again by 7:00. They have got to be exhausted! Please pray that we keep having a safe harvest!

Hungry, hungry hippo....

or baby should I say! Marleigh has been eating like crazy the last few days. I'm talking 5-6 ounces every 2.5-3 hours! It has been crazy. She has also been spitting more in the last week or two. It seems her reflux has been acting up. I thought they probably needed to up her dosage of Zantac since she's growing so fast. I made an appointment to take her to the doctor. 23 days ago, she weighed 8lbs 9oz. Well, today she weighed... 9lbs 12oz! No wonder she has been eating like crazy. She now gets .6ml twice a day instead of .4ml. Hopefully that will help.

The other big news... Marleigh had her first cereal today! The doctor told me to try some really, really diluted in her bottle. She said it would help with the reflux & maybe sleep a little longer. I questioned this because everything I've read said not to put it in a bottle, but the dr. insisted it was okay. Marleigh took it like a champ! She is now sleeping away! I'm hoping this will help her start sleeping longer at night. Last night she ate at 9:00 then was up at 12:00, 3:30, 6:45. I would just LOVE if it would help her to sleep 5 hours or so. I just can't believe she's on cereal already!

I was just thinking.... less than 3 months ago (April 8), Marleigh weighed 4lbs 13 oz. She has gained 5lbs in just 11 weeks! :) I've got some good pics of her too.... I'll try to get those uploaded sometime this weekend.

Correction

Marc said I needed make a correction. He had both combines stuck on Monday & then one stuck yesterday. Both combines also had water in the headers Monday & took quite some time to get back up & running.

Stay posted for more adventures in Wheat Harvest 2009!!!

Father's Day, Baby Logan, & Wheat

We had such a great father's day! Marleigh slept really well Saturday night in her bed! We got up & got ready for church. Of course Marleigh had to get out all her dresses to see which one she wanted to wear! She slept through most of church, but then decided she was hungry! Daddy mowed the yard. Then we went out to Grandpa & Grandma Cline's for a steak. It was yummy!!!

Marleigh got Daddy some new LED lights & accessories for our hopper bottom trailer. She had Mommy call Uncle Jaeson to help. He was more than happy to help out. According to Daddy & Uncle Jaeson, its all about looking good! Well, the semi & trailer now look pretty darn good!

~~

We are so incredibly excited for baby Logan & his parents, Cory & Jatim. Logan went home today!!! After being so sick a couple of weeks ago, he is doing so well now. He isn't able to take all of his feedings by mouth yet, but I'm sure he'll get it in no time. Please remember them in your prayers. It is so great to be home, but as we know first hand, a little scary, too!

~~

It is H-O-T!!! But, we're glad for the wind & heat. The guys are cutting wheat! Moisture was in the 11-12 range so as Papa Bob says they are "makin' 'er smoke!" I'm just waiting for a phone call to see who is the first one to get stuck! For the first time in many years, I'm not out in the grain cart... at least not yet. It feels kinda strange!

Random...

Well, I should have complained about Marleigh not sleeping in her bed a lot sooner! She has done so much better in the last few days. We are relieved... we were about to go broke buying batteries for her swing! Ha ha!!!!

~~

Daddy & Uncle Jaeson started to cut wheat yesterday afternoon. (They keep telling Papa & UB that they're taking over the farm!) I think they were both pretty excited to get started. It was continuous & was making 45-50 bushels/acre & around 60lb test weight. Not too shabby!!! Unfortuantely, it has been raining pretty much all day, so no harvest today. It is POURING at the moment. The good thing is we still haven't had any hail. Monday night we were in line to get pounded with some pretty big hail. We said lots of prayers! The storm died right as it was getting to Pawnee county. Thank you, God!

~~

We had a nice relaxing day today. Marleigh is getting so interactive & loves playtime. We lay her on the ottoman. She kicks, smiles, coos, & almost laughs outloud. With just a little help she can roll from her back to her tummy. I don't think it will be too many weeks until she can do it on her own.

Little Miss Marleigh is getting quite the attitude. When you stop feeding her to try to burp her, she lets you know that she is NOT happy about it. She has also gotten into the habbit of trying to watch TV while eating. I finally had to turn it off this morning so she would pay attention to what she was doing.

Marleigh's diapers have Sesame Street characters on them. Daddy has been singing Cookie Monster's song to her. You know, "C is for cookies, & cookies are for me." Anyway, she just smiles & coos when he sings it to her. Now it is about the only way to change her diaper without her getting upset. It is pretty cute!

She slept in her bed last night!

Finally!!! Marleigh slept in her bed from 5:30 clear until 8:30 without making a peep! It was pure heaven!

Thanks for all the suggestions. We have a positioner in her bed. It is a wedge to keep her inclined. We also have a fan in her room to make noise as well as a radio playing. I'm telling ya, we've tried EVERYTHING!

We're just happy she slept in her crib even for a little while!

Sleep...or the lack thereof.

We can not get Marleigh to sleep in her crib. No matter what we try, she will only sleep about 45 minutes maximum. Now if we put her in her swing, she'll sleep upwards of almost 6 hours at night. I've tried everything I can think of. I've let her fall alseep in the swing & moving her later. No dice. I've rocked her for over an hour & then put her in her crib. Nope. She's not having any of that. I've tried swaddling her tightly. I've tried leaving her arms free. I've tried propping her feet up like they are when she is in her swing. Why won't she sleep?

Need help.... Need sleep!!! Any suggestions?!?

Logan

Baby Logan is a really sick little boy. He has had some major complications since his surgery. Please say extra prayers.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganwagner

Cardiologist appt. last week & our weekend.

What kind of mom am I?!? I forgot to update about Marleigh's cardiologist appointment last Wednesday!

Marc was in Kansas City (again) for meetings so Crazy Grandma was nice enough to go with us. Marleigh was such a good girl! She slept the whole way down to Wichita. They did an EKG, then did a sonogram of her heart. For the sonogram, she was supposed to lay still. Marleigh is normally so active, I was worried. She did great! She sucked on my finger & I sang to her. She laid there for about 15 minutes while Dr. Allen checked out her little heart. Her VSD (hole between the bottom two chambers of her heart) is smaller than before! It is still there, but Dr. Allen said that he has had former patients with larger holes in their hearts go on to play college sports. Everything else looked great! He thinks that within the next 3-4 months it will close completely! We are so thankful that everything looked good.

They also weighed her. She is now 8lbs 9oz. :)

This weekend Mom, Marleigh, & Crazy Grandma went to Hutch to Aunt Shannon's. We had so much fun! I got some good snuggle time with Luke & Aunt Shannon got some good snuggle time with Marleigh.

When we got home yesterday, Marleigh was in such a good mood. She was all smiles & is very close to laughing out loud! She is making high pitch excitement noises. It is adorable! She also rolled from her back to her side. She really is growing up so fast!

Keira Madeleine Barrett

Marleigh is a "big" cousin! Keira Madeleine Barrett was born on Wednesday. She was 8lbs 6oz & 21.5 inches long. Pretty much the same size as Miss Marleigh! Keira as well as her mom, Michaela, are doing well! We are so happy for Ryan, Michaela, Reese, & Keira! I'm sure the girls will have so much fun together in the years to come.

One of Marc's other sisters, Megan, is due in July with... you guessed it... another girl! That makes the count 5 girls, 0 boys for the Johnson's! The funny thing is the Cline's are the exact opposite. Jenni has 3 boys, Jaeson has 1, Shannon has a son, and Jake has a son. Funny, huh?!? There were 6 boys before our girls.

Logan Wagner

Logan was born about a month after our girls. His parents, Corey & Jatim lived at Ronnie Mac with us & they are super nice people. Logan has had a rough start to life, but is a fighter & has been doing amazingly well. He is going to have surgery today. He is having quite a few procedures done. Please pray for Logan, his parents, & the doctors & nurses. Here is a link to his caringbridge sight:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganwagner

Natalie

I know that most people don't know what to say about Natalie. I know their hearts are in their right place. However, there a few things that have been said or not said to me that I would never want said to any other parent that has lost a child.

Please don't act like she never existed. Someone said they don't want to mention her, because it might upset me. She is our daughter. She is Marleigh's sister. She may not still be with us here on earth, but she lives on in heaven. Regardless of if you mention her or not, I think about her many times a day. Some days are harder than others. What would upset me is people forgetting about her beautiful little life. She was so amazing & so strong.

Someone told me, "I bet you appreciate Marleigh so much more." No, I fully recognized that both of my daughters were incredible gifts from God from the instant they were concieved. I feel so blessed & honored that he chose me to be their mother.

I've also heard, "at least you still have Marleigh." Yes, I am very thankful for my beautiful Marleigh, but that will NEVER replace Natalie. No child ever could. Each child is a unique miracle that can never be duplicated.

Then there was the comment, "at least she wasn't any older." I realize she was only 27 days old, but again, this was my baby. This was a part of my heart. It doesn't matter if she was 27 minutes, 27 days, or 27 years old. We spent every day with her. Holding her, sitting by her side. We were there the day she got sick clear til the end. Age has nothing to do with it. She was our little girl.

We will never be the same. We will never forget her. We can only hope to work through some of our pain & live for our precious little girl that we still have.